AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File In this Jan. 6, 2010 file photo, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announces his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retirement of fellow Democrat Christopher Dodd in Hartford, Conn. Blumenthal is defending himself against a New York Times report he misstated his military service in Vietnam.

Hartford - Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the leading Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, was scrambling Tuesday to control the political fall-out from his 2008 remarks falsely stating he served in Vietnam during his time in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

Blumenthal plans a press conference at 2 p.m. at the Hannon-Hatch VFW in West Hartford, where he will appear to address a New York Times report detailing multiple occasions where he has misstated or spoken ambiguously about his Vietnam-era service.

The Blumenthal campaign has already denounced the report as "an outrageous distortion," but did not identify any errors of fact in the Times report.

Meanwhile, Blumenthal's Republican rivals (along with his few Democratic opponents) are smelling blood.

Jim Bancroft was standing in front of the state Capitol Tuesday morning, waving a U.S. Marine Corps flag on a white plastic pole, holding a white dry-erase board on which he had written the following slogan:

"Prosecute Blumenthal Stolen Valor Act"

Within hours of the New York Times' publication of its article -- based on a video clip leaked to the paper by the campaign of Republican Linda McMahon -- conservatives like Bancroft sense an opening, and a chance to demolish a candidate who had once seemed nearly insurmountable to some Connecticut political experts.

Bancroft, who served in the Marines from 1977 to 1981, is an ardent conservative and thus an ideological foe of Democrats like Blumenthal. But he said Tuesday that he had occasionally defended the attorney general when he heard others charge that Blumenthal had falsely claimed service in Vietnam.

"He told me he was a reservist in D.C.," Bancroft said, referring to a conversation he had with the attorney general at one of the numerous rallies to send off or welcome home troops that Blumenthal attends.

"I even stood up for him," Bancroft said. "I'm about as right-wing as you can get, but I defended him, and he deserved it."

Bancroft said he was shocked by the video published Monday evening by the Times, in which Blumenthal, speaking at a 2008 event in Norwalk, says the country has "learned something since the days that I served in Vietnam." The Times also reported that Blumenthal had spoken of having "returned" from Vietnam in 2003, at best a misleading construction since the future attorney general's reserve units were based in Washington and Connecticut, and he never fought in the war.

When a reporter noted that Blumenthal had often seemed careful to note he had been a reservist, and not to suggest he had served in Vietnam or experienced combat, Bancroft agreed, but said he was surprised and angered to hear the sentence Blumenthal uttered in Norwalk.

"I've never heard him say it either," Bancroft said Tuesday morning, "and it shocked me to hear him say it that way. He's a lawyer. He knows exactly what words mean."

Blumenthal will address the controversy at a 2 p.m. press conference in West Hartford.

Meanwhile, one of his rivals for the U.S. Senate, Linda McMahon, is taking credit for planting the story with the Times, an apparent attempt to demonstrate its robust opposition research machine in advance of Friday's Republican convention, and an expected primary in August.

McMahon's strongest Republican rival for the nomination, former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, will hold a press conference about the Blumenthal controversy at 12:30 p.m. at the state Capitol.

Bancroft's sign urged that Blumenthal be investigated under the 2005 federal Stolen Valor Act, a statute that attempts to criminalize the making of false claims about military service and medals. It's unclear if that law, which some lawmakers have also proposed, would apply in this case. It is also subject to a current court challenge, on the grounds that it could violate First Amendment rights to free speech.

Democratic politicians were reeling at the Blumenthal revelation.

A high-ranking Democratic operative in Connecticut, who had earlier expressed concern about Blumenthal's missteps in the opening moments of his campaign, was blunt Monday night. The operative responded to an e-mail about the Times story with a single word: "horrible."

State Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, the co-chairman of the legislature's Veterans Affairs Committee, said in an interview Tuesday that he was "taken aback" by Blumenthal's remarks at the Norwalk rally, and waiting to hear the attorney general's explanation at the press conference this afternoon.

"My recollection of his speeches is that he's pretty forthcoming about not having served in theater," Maynard said.

In previous appearances where he'd heard Blumenthal mention his military service, Maynard said, it was customarily to highlight the importance of treating current service members and veterans respectfully, even though the country was once again politically divided over war.

"He was always focusing on the service of others," Maynard said, and careful to avoid claiming to have gone abroad himself.

Having seen the clip of Blumenthal's Norwalk appearance, Maynard said. "It's surprising. I'm pretty taken aback by it."

The idea of prosecuting him for lying about being in ‘Nam is a bit beyond the pale. This is not perjury (he didn’t lie under oath). The harm this exposure does to his candidacy and his career is sufficient punishment for now.

The idea of prosecuting him for lying about being in Nam is a bit beyond the pale. This is not perjury (he didnt lie under oath). The harm this exposure does to his candidacy and his career is sufficient punishment for now.

I agree. That a thing is despicable shouldn't make it illegal.

How about prosecuting every falsely claimed college degree on employment applications? You may have lost a job or a promotion to such a phony.

“I don’t know how they do it. If I somehow lost my mind to claim I’d earned some military honor then I’d never again be able to show my face.”

Especially for a Marine!! I was at an event in December 2008 at which a Marine, severely injured in Iraq, was being honored. Blumenthal was the main “celebrity” speaker. It was an outdoor event and freezing cold, so I cannot remember a word of what he said, but now I look back on that and feel he dishonored that Marine and many others by claiming or inferring to have fought in Vietnam.

Thye just busted a guy at Harvard University for falsifying his academic records, stellar by the way, and for id theft, credit fraud and regular fraud for getting scholarship money on false pretenses. They only caught him after he applied for a Rhodes scholarship!

Don’t know much about this scumbag, but he’s an AG, and lied consistently and constantly for years.

An Attorney General! Can’t get scummier than that.

How many people has he nailed for fraud and perjury.....

Words fail.......IMO, but I’m not a lawyer, but disbarment should be meted out. He should not be allowed to practice law anywhere, but, then again, the Bar may not look upon it with the same anger that some would.

34
posted on 05/18/2010 11:53:26 AM PDT
by swarthyguy
(KIDS! Deficit, Debt,Taxes!Pfft Lookit the bright side of our legacy -Ummrika is almost SmokFrei!)

I have spoken hundreds of times about my own service, which was just after the VietNam Era.

Not ONCE would ANYBODY have been left with any impression that I was in VN.

This is something you dont mis-speak about or have a few misplaced words.

Those who were IN VietNam have just as much appreciation for my service and my defending them and their families in the years following VN. There is no reason for any military man to make claims about the service they did for our country - whether that service was voluntary or coerced by being drafted, if our service is honorable there is no need for justification or excuse. We all honor each others service.

Blumenthals LIES about what he did while attached to the military are intentional and atrocious.

I cant believe that a single person who served finds this forgivable.

39
posted on 05/18/2010 8:04:51 PM PDT
by AFPhys
((Praying for our troops, our citizens, that the Bible and Freedom become basis of the US law again))

Blumenthal is a Demwit, of course, but it's not right in the headline. And his lying about serving in Vietnam would be equated -- by the very same media -- with a Republican having been issued a ticket for jaywalking. Thanks neverdem.

This story is spindoctored -- Republican OPPONENTS are not RIVALS, and his fellow Democrats are RIVALS not OPPONENTS. It's just a subtle way to leave the impression with readers that Blumenthal is Republican, which he isn't.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announces his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retirement of fellow Democrat Christopher Dodd... Blumenthal, the leading Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, was scrambling Tuesday to control the political fall-out from his 2008 remarks falsely stating he served in Vietnam... Meanwhile, Blumenthal's Republican rivals (along with his few Democratic opponents) are smelling blood. Jim Bancroft was standing in front of the state Capitol Tuesday morning, waving a U.S. Marine Corps flag on a white plastic pole, holding a white dry-erase board on which he had written the following slogan: "Prosecute Blumenthal Stolen Valor Act" ...based on a video clip leaked to the paper by the campaign of Republican Linda McMahon -- conservatives like Bancroft sense an opening, and a chance to demolish a candidate who had once seemed nearly insurmountable... Bancroft, who served in the Marines from 1977 to 1981, is an ardent conservative and thus an ideological foe of Democrats like Blumenthal. But he said Tuesday that he had occasionally defended the attorney general when he heard others charge that Blumenthal had falsely claimed service in Vietnam. "He told me he was a reservist in D.C.," Bancroft said... he was shocked by the video published Monday evening by the Times, in which Blumenthal, speaking at a 2008 event in Norwalk, says the country has "learned something since the days that I served in Vietnam." The Times also reported that Blumenthal had spoken of having "returned" from Vietnam in 2003... "I've never heard him say it either," Bancroft said Tuesday morning, "and it shocked me to hear him say it that way. He's a lawyer. He knows exactly what words mean." ...Meanwhile, one of his rivals for the U.S. Senate, Linda McMahon, is taking credit for planting the story with the Times... McMahon's strongest Republican rival for the nomination, former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, will hold a press conference about the Blumenthal controversy at 12:30 p.m. at the state Capitol... the 2005 federal Stolen Valor Act, a statute that attempts to criminalize the making of false claims about military service and medals... is also subject to a current court challenge, on the grounds that it could violate First Amendment rights to free speech. ...State Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, the co-chairman of the legislature's Veterans Affairs Committee, said... "My recollection of his speeches is that he's pretty forthcoming about not having served in theater," Maynard said... Having seen the clip of Blumenthal's Norwalk appearance, Maynard said. "It's surprising. I'm pretty taken aback by it."

41
posted on 05/18/2010 8:24:02 PM PDT
by SunkenCiv
("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)

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